A UK "Phantom of the Opera" fan club voted West End star Peter Karrie as the favorite actor to play the musical's title role, for the second year in a row. Karrie, who has played the role in London, Toronto, Singapore and Hong Kong, reportedly was the overwhelming favorite of members of the Phantom Appreciation Society, the international Phantom of the Opera fan club, in a recent poll conducted through their quarterly magazine and through e-mail.
Original Phantom, Michael Crawford, came second place; followed by Ethan Freeman (London, Vienna), Dave Willetts (London, Manchester) and Colm Wilkinson (Toronto). The Phantom Appreciation Society, which is headquartered in Britain, was founded in 1993 by a young woman who changed her name to that of the show's heroine, Christine Daae.
Daae can be contacted at [email protected], or by mail at The Phantom Appreciation Society, Salkyns, Gt Canfield, Bishop's Stortford, Herts, CM22 6SX, UK.